Congruent Ventures Raises $275M for 3rd Climate Tech Fund

Congruent Ventures, one of the first venture capital firms to focus on early-stage climate-oriented startups, closed its third flagship fund at $275 million.

The latest investment vehicle brings Congruent’s assets under management to $1 billion.

Congruent Ventures Fund III was initially targeting $200 million but attracted $600 million in Limited Partner interest to bring its final close at $275 million.

The firm said it did not want to exceed its final amount to avoid pressure to move to large series A’s and B’s as entry points.

The fund follows on the heels of a $300 million continuity fund launched earlier this year, dedicated to the growth stage rounds of its earlier portfolio. The company raised $92 million for its flagship fundraise in 2017 and $175 million in 2021 for its second vehicle.

Congruent said it leads two-thirds of its initial investments and is the first institutional commitment in 80% of its portfolio companies which focus on urbanization, energy transition, food and agriculture, and sustainable production and consumption.

Investors in the fund include California State Teachers Retirement System, the Grantham Foundation, the University of California and Strategic Investment Group, among others.

“While we regret having to turn away over $300 million of investor interest in Fund III, we believe a disciplined approach to fund size will allow Fund III to continue to support climate entrepreneurs from the formation stage. If we allowed our fund size to go much beyond $275 million, our ability to support investing in the first institutional rounds of companies would be challenged,” said co-founder and managing partner Joshua Posamentier.